Three Reasons to Live
by Ranowa Hikura
Summary: Team Seven, Sasuke included, is ambushed on a mission. After fighting their attackers off, they wait for a medic and take care of Kakashi, who was poisoned- and are confused when he mistakes them for three people named Rin, Obito, and Minato. They had never wondered so much about their sensei and his past until now. No pairings.
1. Rin's Apology

This has seen an extensive rewrite, and is also probably the last update/post you'll see from me in a while except for my new Naruto story 'Home', which I will update tonight. Please check it out (if you want). It's going to be a long one!

Now, about this one. Takes place before Sasuke leaves for the Sound, but after Tsunade has become Hokage. If there was even a time interval between those two things happening. I've seen a TON of fics when Kakashi hallucinates his old genin team when he's injured, but I can't recall to many when he mistakes Team Seven for them. And the plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone. No spoilers (for recent manga chapters, anyway). So… enjoy.

**Prologue**

It had all started out as a normal mission.

Naruto and Sasuke bickering, Kakashi slouching along after them with his nose buried in his book, and Sakura shaking her head at everyone involved but Sasuke. Naruto had been going on about how this new C-rank had better end up as interesting as their first had- and bluntly ignoring Kakashi when their sensei reminded him that they'd almost died on their first C-rank.

It was only after they'd taken the scroll that was their objective that things started to go wrong.

Because, really, every mission Team Seven was assigned always ended up more complicated than they had expected.

They'd been ambushed. Kakashi had sniffed once, twice, then warned them all to get ready; over a dozen enemies were approaching, and fast. He'd sniffed again and then raised his thumb to his mouth, biting through his mask, and with a flying drop of blood a pack of eight snarling dogs had appeared. And then up had went his headband to reveal a scarlet pupil, spinning spinning spinning, black tomoe rotating in a most fearsome fashion. Naruto and Sakura had shivered at the sight of it.

Kakashi had barely had time to explain to his dogs the situation before the ninjas had come. Chuunin or jounin, by the looks of them, from the Hidden Village of Grass with their eyes set on the scroll in Kakashi's backpack.

Kakashi's dogs snarled and growled, and Sasuke blew fire and Naruto multiplied and Sakura hit, and Kakashi's eye spun spun spun and gleamed blood red. One ninja took one look at the deadly jounin's eye and collapsed with a scream, and then Kakashi was breathing a little heavily and a hand was clutched over his eye in pain.

And then Sakura was crying out as a kunai buried itself in her shoulder and Naruto was diving in front of her, taking one meant for her in his chest. Sasuke blew out an inferno, incinerating the ninja who'd been preparing to throw yet another weapon at the injured pair.

The fight dragged on for far too long, and by its end, Team Seven looked no better than the dead bodies scattered on the ground around them. All four were covered blood, be it their own or the enemies, and the three genin were sporting injuries that would be fatal if not treated soon. Naruto's leg was broken in three places, and the open gash on his stomach remained a solid line of red, Kyuubi's Chakra not working fast enough. Sakura was coughing up blood and clutching at her chest, eyes squeezed tight in pain. Sasuke was leaning against a tree for support, a deep cut in the base of his shoulder- through the mass of bloody skin and muscle and tissue, one could see white bone.

Kakashi had ordered them to sit, and the look in his red eye had been dark and perhaps a little frightening, and so they had. He had treated their injuries as best as a jounin with only the required medical training could. He'd then informed them that the weapons had been poisoned- but only Kakashi had brought the antidote to standard poisons from the small Hidden Village of Grass, and he only had enough for three.

It was just their luck, really, that the Hidden Village of Grass was known for its poisons.

And Kakashi had given a one-eyed smile, spread out the antidote between his students, and promised that he was fine. Every jounin was put through rigorous training to make their bodies immune to most poisons.

If the genins noticed the look Pakkun gave Kakashi, they said nothing about it.

If they thought it was strange that Kakashi did not send his pack of dogs back, now that the fight was over with, they, again, said nothing.

Kakashi led his injured and severely weakened team through the night, Naruto in his arms as his broken leg prevented him from moving at his pace. Keep moving, he had commanded. Keep moving. He ignored their pained pleas for rest as the winter night air closed in and the first snowflakes began to fall. He ignored Sasuke's ashen complexion and Sakura's weak cries of agony as every step made her chest burn..

He could not ignore the impending blizzard.

And finally, settled in a cold cave for the night, a small fire lit by Kakashi's jutsu, his team tried to ignore how their sensei was sweating despite the cold. They tried to ignore it when he started coughing.

They could not ignore his patented eye smile as he grinned at them all, and said, "You three, take care of my body for the night, will you? Because there's a reason Bulk's not here, and I'll probably die before he comes back with the healers."

It didn't make any sense, but when he passed out, it made a little.

It made even more sense when Pakkun explained.

"He was poisoned, too. He just gave the antidotes to you instead of himself."

Because, really, that was _exactly_ the type of thing he would do.

**Chapter 1: Rin's Apology**

"He's really, really hot, Sakura-chan. Do we think we should do something? Or maybe a-"

"We can't _do_ anything, Naruto!" Sakura bit out, frustrated. "We're stuck here! None of us knows how to treat the poison!"

Kakashi's eyes flickered open, one grey, one red, both unfocused and blurry.

"Oh, now look what you did!" Sakura exclaimed in an exaggerated whisper. "You woke him up, Naruto!"

"_Me?!_ I-"

"Stop bickering and close his Sharingan. He can't afford to waste Chakra in this state."

Effectively chagrined, Naruto and Sakura shrunk back, silent, while Sasuke moved forward and did as Pakkun ordered. Kakashi didn't resist; he just rolled lazily onto his side, his eye staring sightlessly at the wall of the cave as his breaths came weak in wet gasps. The sweat on his forehead stood out in the flickering light and what little of his cheeks they could see were red from fever.

Sakura flinched when Kakashi's unsteady gaze jumped from the fire to her. His eye widened in slight surprise, as if he hadn't expected to see her there, and he reached out weakly as if trying to touch her.

The kunoichi froze, staring down at him for a long second before she cautiously reached out and lowered his hand to the hard ground. "R-Relax, Kakashi-sensei," she said softly, her voice uncertain. "It's, um… it's okay."

Kakashi just blinked up at her, staring at her hand on his as it was some kind of anomaly. Then his eyes overflowed with water, and Sakura watched, confused, as they trailed down his cheeks and soaked into his mask. His one grey eye was filled with so much emotion it almost overwhelmed her.

It took her several seconds to realize he was crying.

She stared, horrified.

Kakashi didn't cry. Kakashi was… _Kakashi._

And then he spoke.

"Rin. Hello."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock, and Naruto actually peered behind her and looked around as if there was someone else Kakashi could be talking to. "Huh? What's going on? Who's Kakashi-sensei-"

"Naruto, he's hallucinating. Fever. Didn't you ever pay attention in the Academy?"

Naruto glared at Sasuke, even as Sakura nodded firmly in agreement as if she had known this all along, too. "Yeah, Naruto. Listen to Sasuke-kun."

Kakashi paid their whispered discussion no heed. He just kept staring at her in amazement until he spoke once more. "It's... good to see you again."

As Kakashi was still clearly talking at Sakura, the girl hesitated, biting her lip, then nodded. "Um... it's good to see you too?" She had absolutely no idea what to say to her delusional teacher, but he just smiled happily and descended further into the hallucination.

* * *

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Rin?"

The brunette medic nodded with a smile. She crossed her legs on the rocky cave floor and leaned forward, watching as Kakashi sat upright and pushed the blankets away. "Yes. What trouble did you get yourself into this time?"

He shrugged. "Maa... can't remember. But, whatever it is, I can promise I've had worse. I'll be fine."

"Honestly, Kakashi, you are a medic's worst nightmare."

He smiled. "Thank you, I try. But, this cave- the atmosphere is so depressing. Do you think you could...?"

"The usual place?"

"Mmmhmm."

Rin smiled warmly and then, in the time it took Kakashi to blink, the cave had disappeared. In its place was an old, deserted training ground in Konoha. It was comfortably warm, a light breeze blowing through and rustling the pale leaves- it was summer, Kakashi noted. Rin's favorite season. There was little distinctive about the training ground; it looked much like the others, a soft covering of short grass, a few trees with sunlight filtering down through them, most bearing marks of stray shuriken or jutsu. The only thing that marked this field apart from the others were three lonely logs bored into the earth.

Kakashi sighed in contentment and moved to sit in front of one of the logs. Rin followed. "Nothing like our old training grounds, hmm?" he mumbled, and his teammate nodded. "So, Rin. You going to tell me this time?"

"Tell you what?"

He shrugged, keeping his mismatched gaze on her. "Are you real? Or did my screwed up head just pick you to be my hallucination?"

"Technically, if I were a spirit from the dead, because you're unconscious and imagining all of this, I wouldn't be 'real'."

He sighed. "You give me that answer every time."

"Does it really matter?"

"...No."

Rin paused, then smiled at him and reached over to rest one hand firmly in his hair. "Besides, your head isn't that screwed up."

Kakashi shot her a look, but it was through a smile of his own. "I hallucinate someone who's been dead for thirteen years so often that we have a favorite place to come and talk." He gestured around Minato's old training grounds before looking back to her. "Sounds like I'm ready for the nuthouse, doesn't it?"

"Okay, so, maybe your head _is_ that screwed up. Doesn't matter. It's still your head, so we still love it."

"We? Am I the only one going insane here, or are you now speaking for the voices in your head, too?"

Rin sighed and lowered her hand, rolling her eyes and leaning back against her own log. "Team Minato, silly. I'm the only one here right now, but I'm sure the other two are on their way. Minato-sensei probably just got lost, and Obito- he's going to be late."

"When is he not? Maa... we always used to hate it when he'd show up here hours late for practice."

Rin giggled. "I know. You would tell him off and Sensei would tell both of you off. ...And now, you do the same thing. You're hours late to every single appointment you make. Obito loves it. Sensei isn't too thrilled about it, but you seem to like ticking everyone off by showing your face hours after you were supposed to, and so he always says 'as long as Kashi-kun's happy..."

Kakashi rolled his eyes as he lay back in the dirt, letting an arm flop above his head. "I hate that nickname."

"No, you _act _like you hate it," she corrected. "Sensei and I knew you secretly liked it."

Kakashi kept his eyes on Rin, because his time with her was short, watching as she let a pale hand fall to the earth and slowly begin playing with strands of his hair. "See," he murmured. "There's my proof that you're not real. The real Rin was always too nervous to do this."

"Ah, but if that's true, and you're just imagining me, then you must have secret, subconscious desires for me to play with your hair. Well? What about it? _Do_ you have secret, subconscious desires for me to play with your hair?"

"Well!" he exclaimed defensively. "If I let Obito do it, then I'd probably end up with purple hair. And Minato-sensei... I don't trust him near my hair, either. He practically tried to rip my it out of my skull that time he was trying to cut it for an undercover mission."

"You are very particular about your hair."

"I have good reason to be. Do you know how hard it was to grow it like this? It's for my image, you know. Hair that defies gravity is crucial for my reputation."

Rin giggled again. "Ah, yes, of course. Sharingan no Kakashi, the Copy Ninja, son of the White Fang, Wolf- and grey hair that defies gravity. How could I forget?"

"It's not grey. It's silver."

Rin rolled her eyes and continued to smile. "_Sorry_. I didn't realize there was such a great difference. But, honestly, Kakashi- you're so lazy you barely get out of bed in the morning. Are you telling me you actually bothered to invest any effort at all into the state of your _hair?_ Sorry, but I'm not buying it."

Kakashi sighed. "And I thought you really understood me, Rin."

The two teammates fell into silence, Rin occasionally running her fingers through coarse silver hair but they mostly just sat there in their old training grounds, taking what time they had together and enjoying it. Finally, Kakashi glanced up at the medic and smiled slightly. "Don't suppose you can just stay here forever?"

"I don't think _you_ can, Kakashi."

"True enough." He sighed, then, and let his relaxed gaze drift around the training grounds. "Maa... I've still missed you."

Rin shrugged slightly. "What else is new? ...We miss you too, you know. Just waiting for you to join us. And then, Team Minato will finally be together again- just like the old days, yeah?"

"Yeah. ...Kind of ironic, that the one ninja who was more people in the next life than this one doesn't seem to be able to die. And I've killed so many others, too. I guess this is life's punishment for a murderer." He smiled slightly, but it was pained, and Rin looked down at him in worry.

"Kakashi, it's one thing to miss people; it's another to want to die to see them again."

"I want to die?" Kakashi looked up at her with one lazy, half-lidded eye. "When did I say that?"

Rin frowned. "Only every time we've met like this. ...What changed? What happened to the ANBU who was just waiting for the mission that would do him in?"

Kakashi smiled slightly. "I'm not in ANBU anymore, Rin. I'm a sensei now. Well, they call me sensei. I'm not sure I teach too much. Certainly nothing worth learning."

"What's your team like?"

He thought about how to describe them. About a hyperactive blond with an unbreakable spirit and an undying smile. About a brooding, stoic youth who kept to himself and trained until he couldn't stand, a jaded look about him that came from experiencing too much hurt while he was still far too young. About a girl with amazing potential, but he'd wish she'd focus on her own worth instead of her fantasy, because he really did like her and it was sad to see her waste everything on a schoolgirl's crush that never would be.

And as he thought of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, he could think of only way to describe them.

"Like us."

Rin smiled at him again. Her eyes danced with happiness as she reached out and lightly touched his cheek, warm eyes boring into his own. "And you don't want to die and leave them behind, do you?"

He shrugged slightly. "Maa, I'm sure they'd manage."

"Kakashi, I don't want you to die, either. You seem… happy, about those three. Happier than you ever were when I was still there. ...I'm glad you finally have someone."

"Rin, I-"

"Promise me you won't die, Kakashi. Promise me you don't want to die. There's still so much you can do. You deserve to be happy. Obito and Sensei wouldn't want you to die either; so you need to promise me right now that you will do everything you can to stay alive and be happy with those three that make you smile."

Kakashi starred, horrified. Rin was actually crying. How had this happened? How had they gone from a happy, calm discussion to- this? Her eyes were filling with tears and she was gripping his hand even harder now, staring desperately at him as she begged him, pleaded with him to promise he wouldn't-

Wouldn't what? Kill himself?

He reached out and grabbed her other hand on impulse; anything to get her to calm down, anything to stop her from crying, because it made Obito's eye water to see her like this. "I don't want to die, Rin," he promised, trying to get her to understand. "I don't want to die."

Rin stared at him for a moment longer, tearful eyes wide and disbelieving. Then, slowly, every so slowly, she began to smile. A tear brimmed over and slipped down her cheek. She nodded weakly, as if pleased. "Good-"

"You're not going to die, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Huh?" Kakashi blinked, confused. The words had come out of Rin's mouth; it had been her voice- but it didn't make any sense.

"I promise, you're not going to die. Help's coming; just hang on."

"Rin? Why are you calling me Sensei?"

Silence for one long moment. Rin looked at him oddly, then moved forward to whisper in his ear. "It's time for me to go, Kakashi."

"What? No, Rin, wait-"

* * *

Sakura stared in horror as her sensei reached out blindly for the woman he'd been speaking with for the past hour. She caught his hand and lowered it to the ground again as Kakashi's fingers scrabbled against her skin, frighteningly hot, holding on tight as if he was terrified she might disappear.

"Rin," he cried out, and his voice broke. "Rin, wait, before you go! Listen! I'm sorry you can't stay, you know that, right? I'm so sorry you can't be happy, too... Rin, please... forgive me for that."

Her eyes grew wide and she found herself looking to her teammates for help. Naruto looked just as lost as she was, and even Sasuke seemed a little thrown off balance. When she glanced at Pakkun, the small dog nodded encouragingly, a pained look in his eye, as if prodding her forward.

_"Forgive me for that."_

She looked back at Kakashi. His fever was higher than ever, his black eye staring sightlessly up through her in desperation, and she couldn't tell for sure, but it looked like a tear had slipped out of his closed Sharingan and rolled into his mask.

Kakashi wasn't supposed to cry. Kakashi was her sensei, her unflappable, mysterious, indifferent sensei. He wasn't supposed to cry. Whoever this Rin person was, she couldn't be enough to make him cry.

"Rin!" he begged in between wet, worrisome sounding gasps. "Rin, please!"

And Sakura swallowed the lump in her throat and spoke.

"Okay, Kakashi-sens- um, Kakashi. I… forgive you."

The words clearly had a powerful effect on the man. The pain and horror on his face faded away, leaving nothing but a feverish bliss. His sweaty grip on her hand relaxed as his head rolled over to stare blankly at the roof of the cave. She wasn't sure, but she thought she heard a weak, faint 'thank you' before he shut his eye and fell back into unconsciousness.


	2. Stories for Minato-sensei

Thank you all for reviewing! Wow, that's a bunch of you! :D

**Chapter 2: Stories for Minato-sensei**

"How far away are the medics?!" Naruto exclaimed in frustration. He glanced at the white out in the mouth of the cave and groaned. "Kakashi-sensei's hurt! What's taking them so long?!"

"Naruto, it's snowing. Kakashi's dogs may be able to find their way through, but I doubt the medics will. Help may not come until morning."

Naruto turned on Sasuke with an accusing finger pointed right at his calm teammate. "You! You're not being of any help, Sasuke! Why don't you-"

"Stop picking on Sasuke-kun, Naruto! Sasuke's hurt the worst out of all three of us, and he's still managed to keep the fire going all night! _You're_ the one who hasn't done anything, baka!" She glared at him, already short temper worn down even further by exhaustion and pain, before turning back to watch Kakashi with worried eyes.

"Hn." Sasuke ignored Naruto sticking his tongue out at him and shifted uncomfortably. The makeshift sling hadn't done his injury any particular wonders and he was beginning to doubt his ability to continue using even the small fire techniques he had been to keep the tiny blaze going. But he had to; there was no other choice. Without the fire, they would freeze to death. Naruto and Sakura had no fire techniques, and Kakashi certainly wasn't in any sort of shape to do it for him.

After his somewhat unsettling conversation with the imaginary Rin- Sasuke was quite sure Kakashi would pleased to know he had managed to scare the hell out of them- the jounin had fallen silent except for an occasional word or whimper. The only noises in the cave were that of the fire and Kakashi's labored breathing. His condition was only deteriorating, and fast. They were only a few miles away from Konoha; surely, even with the blizzard, Kakashi's dogs would be leading healers back soon.

"Hey. Sensei's shaking."

Sasuke blinked, looking up as Sakura moved forward to crouch beside Kakashi. Sure enough, he was trembling badly, eyes shut tight, and he let out another low moan. Naruto joined Sakura by his side and tentatively poked his shoulder.

"C-c-cold."

Naruto frowned, seemingly befuddled by Kakashi's weak, one word response. He tilted his head to the side, then looked back at his teammates as if he'd just solved some difficult puzzle. "I think he's cold."

Sasuke rolled his eyes while Sakura hit him on the back of the head. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise and he rubbed his head sheepishly, seeming more confused than before. "Sakura-chan…"

"He _said_ he was cold. Why did you have to think to figure that out?!"

"Well! He's still really hot so why would he be cold! It only took me a few-"

"Hey. Bickering, immature brats. Your sensei's dying here. Snap out of it."

Naruto blinked, looking down at Pakkun, who was watching them expectantly. The dog jerked his head toward Kakashi and Naruto scrambled to grab the blanket Kakashi had managed to kick off himself earlier and pull it back over him.

Kakashi's eye open flickered open at the motion, and his teeth stopped chattering as quite as loudly as his gaze jumped around nervously, finally settling on Naruto. His eye widened in wonderment, filled with such emotion and disbelief it startled him. Naruto stared back, uncertain of what to do or say when faced by Kakashi's amazement.

Finally, the jounin spoke.

"Minato-sensei."

* * *

Minato nodded with a gentle smile, and Kakashi reached out to touch him, because he couldn't be real. To his shock, Minato caught his hand before it found its target, his smile remaining. "I'm real, Kakashi."

Kakashi smiled and let his hand drop. Minato released it from his grip and leaned back against the cave wall, and it took him a moment to not feel odd when his blue eyes- exactly like Naruto's- were not filled with uncontrollable energy and spirit- completely unlike Naruto's. "So. How've you been, Kakashi?"

Kakashi laughed and sobbed at once and he pushed his hair out of his eyes, shaking his head. How had he been? That question had far too many answers. Far too many and, at the same time, none at all. Because so much had changed over the years, but Kakashi wasn't entirely sure he had.

"How about you, Minato-sensei?"

Minato's grin broadened and he tilted his head to the side. "The responsibilities of a dead and gone Hokage are never finished, Kashi-kun. Is Sarutobi still taking care of the village for me?"

Another death, another funeral, another name on the stone. Kakashi swallowed and looked away, averting his eye to look at the ground. There really was too much death in this world.

"Ah. So… no, then?"

"Mmm. …Tsunade's Hokage now."

Minato's eyes widened in surprise. "Tsuande? That girl Sarutobi taught? ...The drunk one? Good heavens... is the village okay?!"

Kakashi found himself unable to hold back a chuckle. "She's not gambling with the village finances, if that's what you're worried about. She's a bit more responsible than when she left."

"I should hope so, if the welfare of the village is in her hands."

Kakashi just smiled slightly and nodded. He knew who Minato really wanted to ask him about, but it seemed like he was waiting for Kakashi to bring up the subject first. He shifted awkwardly and scratched at the back of his head, then glanced up to meet Minato's calm gaze again. "Naruto's doing well."

His sensei's face brightened, smile broadening at the mention of his son, the only one who he was truly desperate for news on. "Really?"

Kakashi nodded, grinning himself. "Yes. He made a genin a little while back. Actually got to the main matches in his first chuunin exam and beat a Hyuuga."

Minato beamed. His smile could surely not grow any wider and he relaxed completely, threading his hands loosely together as he nodded happily. "I'm glad. Who's his sensei? Someone good, I hope."

"Well… I'm not too sure about that." Kakashi felt rather than saw his sensei's eyes on him and gestured at his own chest, gaze fixated on his feet again, none too keen on seeing Minato's face when he learned who was supposed to be teaching his son.

He was somewhat surprised when he heard Minato give a relieved sigh, and he glanced up to see he was still smiling. "Really? I'm glad, then. I know he's in good hands."

Kakashi shrugged noncommittally. "Maa, I don't know about that, Sensei. I don't take the best care of my friends."

"…You just called my son your friend."

Kakashi blinked, then nodded with a smile. "Yeah. Naruto's hard not to like, when you get to know him. People don't like him at first… think he's a little overbearing and… loud. But he's a good ninja, and an even better friend. Swears he'll be Hokage. Looks just like you."

Minato nodded, his smile still pulling at his lips, his face practically glowing. "I'm really glad. And what about… Kyuubi? Is Naruto- ?"

"He didn't know until a little while ago. And, I'm sad to say, he suffered greatly for it. But he's coped well. I think he even seemed a little happier to know the reason that everyone ignored him or, worse, hated him."

"They… what?" Minato's pleased expression fell, sadness touching his eyes, and Kakashi was quick to shake his head and smile reassuringly at him.

"He was the Jincuuriki. Same story, you know how it is. Everyone fears him because of what was inside him. Don't worry. Naruto never gave up. Even when the whole world seemed to despise him, he still never gave up. He just wanted people to acknowledge him, and now, he's got his sensei from the Academy and Sakura and Sasuke, too. He's really happy now, Minato-sensei."

Minato still looked worried. His normally clear blue eyes were clouded, and his mouth was beginning to pull into a low frown. Kakashi was quick to smile at him again from beneath his mask, trying to make him happy again, because he hated disappointing his sensei, and he sure look disappointed now. "I wish you could see him. Then you'd know. He… he smiles all the time. So much it can be a little annoying. He's the guy on the mission who's happy and energetic, even if it's the middle of the night and it's raining and he's on watch. And he never lets others get him down… no matter what."

"You sound like you really admire him. And you don't admire a lot of people, unless something's changed."

Kakashi chuckled quietly as he leaned back against the cave wall, crossing his arms loosely. "Maa, I don't, do I? Well… he's hard not to admire. He's my number one loudmouthed, surprise ninja. He even saved my life once, with Sasuke."

"Oh?" Minato tilted his head to the side and grinned, curiosity alighting his gaze. "Is this the same Sasuke that Kushina's friend had just a few days before Naruto? The Uchiha?" At Kakashi's nod, Minato laughed. "So, tell me- how did two genin save the Sharingan no Kakashi?"

Kakashi rolled his eye. "Don't call me that, Sensei. And it's a long story."

"I've got time. Being dead means you've got all the time in the world."

They laughed together a moment before Kakashi's smile faded. Because Minato was dead, and he couldn't smile about that.

He swallowed hard and answered his question, because as long as he kept talking, Minato would stay. And he wanted Minato to stay. "It was our first C-ranked mission. They really weren't ready; but Naruto pushed Sandaimne for one, and I didn't resist as hard as I should have, because supervising D-ranks… was boring. I was losing my mind, watching the three of them pick weeds and chase stray pets all day. And, so, we caught a C-rank. Long story short; client lied, and it really should've been classified as an A-rank. Of course, we found that out way too late. Did you ever hear of Zabuza, Sensei?"

Minato's eyes widened. "Are you talking about Zabuza of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist? 'Kashi-kun, you're not serious."

"Mmm. I ordered them to stay back… told them they wouldn't die because they were with me. That I wouldn't let them die."

Minato shook his head slightly, with that look in his eye, that nonjudgmental look that said 'I'm not judging you, but that was stupid'. Kakashi nodded unhappily. "Yeah. I know. It was pretty stupid and arrogant. And I made a mistake and let Zabuza trap me. I told my team to run. Sakura looked like she was about to, and Sasuke was just glaring at Zabuza… and Naruto looked pretty pissed off at me."

"He didn't take too kindly to being to leave you behind, did he?"

Kakashi chuckled again. "You know him better than I do, Sensei. Yes. He told me off and then worked with Sasuke to save me. I fought Zabuza off after that… but your son held his own against an S-class criminal. Came up with a damn good strategy, too."

Minato was beaming with pride. Kakashi smiled back at him and nodded. "He fought Zabuza's disciple later, with Sasuke. The kid was a prodigy and had a kekkei genkai; Ice Release. He won then, too. You and Ksuhina should be proud of him. He's come a long way. And I'm sure he's going to keep on going. He learned Rasengan, you know. He's strong in his own right, not just because of Kyuubi."

"Good. …That's very good."

A comfortable silent fell between them. Minato watched while his former student stared at the dark ground, lost in the moment, too afraid to speak, as if that would make Minato realize he had to leave. Because whenever he got the chance to speak with Minato, it ended in one of two ways. Either Minato would eventually say goodbye and fade into nothingness, or he would wake up. Sometimes, he would wake up crying. He didn't want either to happen… he wanted to stay here.

Finally, it was Minato who broke the silence. "'Kashi-kun, I want to know my son. Not a shinobi. What's Naruto like?"

"Oh," Kakashi murmured with a start. "That's right. I haven't told you much besides what he's done as a ninja, have I? Hmm." He tilted his head to the side, trying to think of the best way to describe Naruto to his father. There were so many words, and then none at all.

Finally, he said the first thing that came to mind.

"He really, really loves ramen."

It was dead silent for one long moment, and then Minato gave a startled laugh. "What?"

Kakashi laughed as well and bowed his head to hide the smile splitting his face. "Yeah. Just like Kushina. Can't get enough of it. First thing he does when he gets back from a mission is go to Ichiraku's. And his sensei from the Academy will always treat him if he can."

Minato nodded eagerly, and Kakashi didn't think he realized how urgent he appeared for these small tidbits about his son. "Yes, Kakashi. Things like that. More things like that."

And Kakashi did tell him more things like that. He told him how his son adored Sakura and rivaled Sasuke. He told him how Naruto had used to play pranks on the everyone in the village, just so someone would notice him and acknowledge him, and how happy he'd been when Iruka finally had. He told him how Naruto had remembered Sasuke's birthday and given him asparagus for a present- because, he'd pointed out, Sasuke didn't like sweets. And how he'd glowered when Sasuke had accepted the present and eaten it, because apparently, Naruto just couldn't fathom a kid his age liking vegetables.

He told him how angry Naruto got when someone dared to threaten his friends. He told him how energetic and determined Naruto remained even after a day full of a mind-numbing D-rank, how he started each training session swearing he would become Hokage someday and would shout it out even when Sasuke was pinning him to the ground, kunai at his neck after only a few minutes of sparring.

He told him how loyal Naruto was to his friends. How easy it was to become Naruto's friend, and how he genuinely treasured each new bond he formed and would never betray his comrades. How he followed his conscience first, not the mission guidelines, not the rules. Always followed his heart above all else.

How he could see someone like Naruto making a good Hokage someday.

He kept talking until his voice was hoarse; until he ran out of things to say. And at first, Minato looked endlessly proud and deliriously happy. But it didn't take long for his bright smile to softly fade and his shoulders to slump.

"…I wish I could see him."

Kakashi swallowed uncomfortably and looked away. He wanted to say that if he could give his life for Minato, he would, but he didn't think Minato would like that very much at all.

"But I can't."

The change in Minato's voice stunned him. No longer was he sorrowful and longing. Instead, it was clear and determined, and for a brief moment he thought he was talking to Naruto and not his father. He raised his gaze to see Minato looking back at him, no hint of the earlier hurt and unhappiness in his now strong eyes. "So, you take care of him for me, Kakashi. You sound like you've done good for him in just the short while he's been his sensei. So keep doing that for me."

"I will, Sensei."

"Promise me you'll keep him safe."

Kakashi nodded without hesitation. "With my life, Minato-sensei."

"Good. …Kakashi, I think I have to go."

* * *

Naruto stared, frozen, as Kakashi's eye widened in utter panic and he reached feebly out, his hand trembling badly. "Minato-sensei," he wheezed, his voice so weak and hoarse it was barely audible. "No. No. Stay. Please, stay."

Kakashi's panicked gaze bored into his own, awake and aware, and Naruto could only assume his sensei was talking to him. It didn't make any sense, but it was just like when he'd earlier mistaken Sakura for some other woman named Rin.

And Sakura playing along had seemed to help…

"Don't worry, Kaka-sensei. I'm not going anywhere."

Kakashi's eye narrowed in feverish confusion, and he scrabbled blindly with a weak hand, trying to touch him. Naruto moved closer and Kaashi managed to grip his foot, too tired to lift his hand up off the ground. "Minato…sensei. …Don't wanna… say goodbye."

"Calm down, Kakashi-sensei! I-I- we're not going anywhere," he sputtered, frantic. Kakashi still reached out blindly, trying to touch this Minato, to hold the hallucination in the present and stop him from fading. His hand closed around Naruto's wrist, and he stared up into his eyes with an exhausted, feverish haze.

Naruto stared down at him, searching his eyes, wondering just what Kakashi was trying to tell him before the jounin passed out again. His head hit the vest balled up as a pillow and his eye fell shut.


	3. Obito's Eye

Thank you all for reviewing!

**Chapter 3: Obito's eye**

It was nearing morning when Kakashi woke again. He'd been tossing and turning in an exhausted, restless sleep for the entire night, muttering people's names aloud but not conscious, not staring up at them like he was seeing someone else. Not since he'd spoken with Minato had he done that.

Sasuke had just relit the dying embers when Kakashi's glazed eye flickered open to stare at the flames. Every member of Team Seven tensed, mentally preparing themselves to listen to an agonized, one-sided conversation between Kakashi and someone else from his past.

He locked eyes with Sasuke.

The stoic Uchiha didn't flinch, but he did freeze, hands still forming the seal for his fire jutsu. Kakashi stared at him, a dozen unreadable emotions flickering across his face in the space of a second, mask rendering them unable to distinguish pain from panic, happiness from sadness.

And then he finally released a frantic breath of air, like a man who'd been waiting for the coming of spring in the frigid prison of winter all alone had finally just seen the first tentative rays of sunlight peek through the clouds. He stared up at Sasuke, low, amazed sobs of relief coming in between frantic, wheezing gasps for air.

"You're finally here… Obito."

* * *

Obito grinned cheekily. He adjusted his goggles and said, "Sorry I'm late, Kakashi. I got lost on my way here. The afterlife's a pretty confusing place."

"Minato-sensei and Rin beat you here."

He laughed. "They always had a better sense of direction than I did. Besides, they probably wanted to leave the best for last. Me, Uchiha Obito! The grand finale!" He jammed his thumb at his heart and grinned broadly, eyes- both of them, wide with that proud, mischievous look in them like he'd just pulled off the most successful prank of his life.

Kakashi laughed himself. "Yeah. Grand finale. Too bad you were never good at the finishing touches."

Obito looked stunned. "Hey! You take that back!"

"No. It's true."

Obito glowered at him for one long moment, then broke out into a grin. "You know, I never could tell, but I was always positive that you were sticking your tongue out at me under that damn mask."

"I'll never tell."

Obito and Kakashi both grinned as their old dynamic of a genius and the dead last returned. The Uchiha ran a hand through his dark hair while Kakashi crossed his legs and leaned back, interlocking his fingers behind his head. "So," Obito asked after a moment, 'what did Rin and Sensei talk to you about? The usual?"

"Rin tried to make sure I was happy. That, and wouldn't follow in my father's footsteps. Sensei asked about his son. Well, grand finale? What are you going to do? It had better be amazing if it's going to impress me after those two."

Obito's smile softened, and his dark eyes, both of them, turned wistful. He sighed. "Rin... I wish I hadn't seen her quite so soon. You know? She always wants to make sure you're happy... I think you two could've been great together."

Kakashi shook his head. "No. What she had for me- it was just a childhood crush. Nothing more. And, besides... she grew up a lot after you died. She realized you were a lot more important and special than any mysterious brat with a mask and a self-righteous attitude. We were friends, nothing more, and she was happy with that. ...If you hadn't died... maybe you two would've worked out in the end. 'Been happy', as they say. ...She even said your name as she died."

Obito just grinned at that; no sign of anger for a failed promise or sadness for the death of a friend. "Did she, now? Would've though she'd say yours. Baka Kakashi."

Kakashi said nothing. He knew Obito had brought back that old insult that was barely even an insult to try and lighten the mood but it didn't matter- it didn't work. Remembering that day was never a fun experience, and he found himself looking cautiously at his friend without even the slightest hint of a smile. "...I'm sorry I couldn't keep her safe for you."

Obito just smiled at him again. "You know, Kakashi, being dead means a lot of time to think. I decided that I should amend the promise I made you give me. _Try_ to keep Rin safe. Not just keep her safe. Because I was such a kid back then, and that was something unfair of me to ask you."

The words he was hearing just didn't make any sense. They didn't match up with Obito's eyes, losing their light even as he ordered him with his last breath to keep Rin safe. "But it _wasn't_, Obito. I could've protected her."

"You gave everything you had to protect her, though. Sometimes, the enemy is stronger than us. I know you trained to protect her, I know you tried as hard as you could, and I can't blame you for what happened."

Kakashi said nothing. He liked this Obito better than the one of his nightmares, the one who glared at him with one red eye, the other a gaping socket dripping with blood, the one who glared at him and hated him for letting Rin die. Sometimes, he just yelled and cursed at him, replaying the moment of Rin's death until he woke up screaming. Other times, he would take his eye back and his time killing him, exchanging his life for Rin's.

This Obito, Hallucination Obito, never did anything like that. He would only smile and promise that none of what had happened was his fault. And, sometimes, Kakashi could almost believe him. Because being with this Obito made the pain in his chest that had once been almost a permanent companion ease... because Obito made everything okay again.

But he never could talk with Obito for long. That was the trade off, he supposed. And he wasn't okay with that, but it was hardly a worthy punishment, for failing Rin and letting Obito die, so he never complained.

"Kakashi, you're really not that smart, for a supposed genius. I didn't save you from that rock for Rin; I saved you from it for _you_. I wanted to see you live, but... you're never happy. And I wanna see you happy, too. You're my best friend, as odd as it sounds to say it. And it's not time for you to die yet, so I don't want you to waste your life."

"…I'm, um, not. I-"

"Blah blah blah, accomplishment award title blah blah blah. In my opinion, I think it's a waste to get all that if you're miserable doing it."

Kakashi grimaced. He met Obito's eyes for a moment before he looked away again. He didn't know what to say to that. …He almost never knew what to say when Obito would talk to him like this.

His friend sighed. "Kakashi, when was the last time you were genuinely happy? I mean actually smiling, not faking it, laughing, all that."

Kakashi gave the question serious thought. He tried to think of the last time he'd been happy.

He was shocked when he found the answer.

"Sasuke's birthday. Two days ago."

Obito raised his eyebrows. "Oh? Sasuke? Have you finally found yourself a significant-"

"Kami, no, Obito! Sasuke is twelve. And my student. I'm a… a jounin-sensei now."

Obito laughed loudly, his smile splitting his face, shaking his head in utter amusement. "You've got genin brats now? Heaven help Konoha! What, have you been teaching them how to brood in the dark and be mysterious?"

"I am a fantastic teacher. They learn such strategy and skills in espionage and recon when they try and take off my mask on a daily basis; who am I to deprive them of that and actually try to teach ninjutsu? And they've learned patience for when I must take time out of my busy schedule to help the needy, and thus leave my poor team stranded and urgently awaiting my arrival."

His friend snorted and rolled his eyes. "Uhuh. Right. But, Sasuke. His birthday? Tell me about it!"

Kakashi chuckled, thinking back to the day. He had been dreading it, but, all things considered, it had actually been rather enjoyable. "Sakura spent the entire day trying to work up the courage to give him some flowers she had bought for a present. We were practicing water walking and she was so nervous she kept falling. And then she'd blush and jump up and swear she was fine, as if Sasuke was judging her. And Naruto took it on as his mission to ambush Sasuke and give him his present.

"A few days before, Sakura asked Sasuke if he would like it if she baked him a chocolate cake. He said he didn't like sweets. Sakura took it personally and Naruto decided to get Sasuke something hat wasn't sweet- so he got him asparagus. I think he thought Sasuke wouldn't like that, either. But he finally ambushed Sasuke- which ended with Naruto on the ground with a kunai to his throat- and gave him the asparagus, and Sasuke ate it and thanked him for the birthday present. Actually, he said, 'thank you for the birthday present, _dobe_', which started a whole other fight. And then, Naruto absolutely insisted that the four of us got out and eat dinner together for his birthday. I think he felt bad for Sasuke, since he didn't have any parents waiting at home for his birthday, and Naruto knew what that was like, too. He was also convinced that I should treat."

"Huh. I'm sure you enjoyed that."

"My wallet felt very sad and forlorn afterwards. Naruto eats enough for three."

Obito chuckled. "Well? Don't keep me in suspense- did Sakura ever give Sasuke the flowers?"

"Oh, that. Yes. Well, she tried, just before we parted for the night. He said he didn't like flowers, but thank you. She took it personally again. Naruto got mad at him, saying Sakura had gone to the trouble of buying him flowers so the least _he_ could do was accept them, and then Sasuke said that Naruto wasn't in any position to talk to him about manners and proper etiquette, and that started another fight."

Kakashi fell silent, still grinning broadly beneath his mask. His Team Seven may not have appeared to be the happiest of groups on the surface, and in the beginning, they had done nothing but remind him of the past and give him headaches. But now…

"You know, Kakashi, they sound a lot like us."

He nodded slightly, his smile refusing to fade. "Yeah. I was late to our first meeting, and Naruto thought it would be funny to set a trap for me. Just like Sensei did for you. I let their trap succeed because I wanted to see how they would react, and… that was the first thing I thought. They were just like us. Sasuke was judgmental and shaking his head, Sakura flailed about and apologized constantly, and Naruto was as proud of himself as he could be."

Obito grinned as well. "Kakashi, you haven't stopped smiling the entire time you've been talking about them. …They make you happy. And I haven't seen you happy in a long time."

A pang of sadness hit him then, hit him with all the force of a physical blow. He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat and looked away. "I'd be happier if you were a sensei with me. …You could teach me how to teach the kids, because I'm not that great of a sensei. You could bring up your own team and teach them everything you knew. You could be with Rin."

"I could do all those things, or you _want_ me to do all those things?"

He grimaced again. "I want you to be able to do all those things. …And if that's impossible, I want you to be able to do all those things instead of me. I want… I want us to work together like we did back then. And you would have both your eyes."

"Look, Kakashi-"

"I don't deserve your eye, Obito." He was babbling now, frantic, grabbing Obito's hand in his. "You gave it to me to protect Rin with, and I killed her. Sensei, he's dead. I keep trying to make it up to you; to make up all those _failures_ to you, but it never works. I never passed a genin team until these three, you know? Because they all ignored me and put the mission above everything, above their _friends_, and I couldn't pass them, what if they made the same mistake I did and someone died? I couldn't- I couldn't-"

"Kakashi, listen-

"You're _dead_, Obito!" A violent yell, shoving back the boy with a firm push, his eyes slightly wild. "You're _dead!_ How the hell can _you_ be so calm when you're dead? When you're dead because of me?!"

"Because I'm happy here! Baka Kakashi!" Obito pushed him right back and glared. "I'm happy and with Rin and Minato-sensei here. And I died so you could get the chance to live and be happy too! If you live but you're miserable, then you're just wasting it- wasting the chance I _died_ to give you. I died for it, you moron. I just gave you my eye so you could protect Rin, so something of me would live and be with you guys, too, but you screwed that up too when you killed Rin!"

A wild, crazed look had somehow taken over Obito's eyes as he suddenly switched positions to be agreeing with Kakashi instead of arguing against him, and Kakashi stared at him in shock before the Uchiha suddenly threw himself forward, hands scrabbling at the Sharingan. "Give it back!" he screamed. "You used it to kill Rin! _Give it back, you bastard!"_

And Kakashi fought against him for a moment, frantically pushing the roving claws away from his eye socket before he wondered why he was fighting Obito instead of helping him.

After all, he _agreed _with him.

* * *

"Get it out… 'S not mine… get it out."

Kakashi's voice was a faint plea, weakly begging for someone, anyone to help as he tossed back and forth, his strength far too great for someone as ill as he was. It took both Naruto and Sasuke to hold his arms to the rough ground, to keep his thrashing to a minimum.

To stop him from clawing his own eye out.

Because he kept fighting to free himself, kept fighting to raise his hand and dig sharp nails into his eye socket, as he had before. Team Seven had watched in mute horror as Kakashi dug his hand into his skull, moaning all the while, and the only reason his eye had been saved was because Pakkun had leaped forward and sunk his teeth into his master's wrist. Naruto and Sasuke had jumped into action then, pinning their fighting sensei to the ground, unable to do anything else to help

Blood trailed down from the Sharingan now in what looked like scarlet tears, flowing thickly into the fabric of his mask and staining it.

"Obito," he mumbled in between wet gasps, "Obito, Obito, Obito. Take it back. _Take your eye back._ Obito!" Kakashi strained to lift his arm again, fighting to claw the Sharingan out, leaving his team terrified.

"He's taking it back, Kakashi-sensei, Obito's taking it back!" Sakura promised without having the faintest idea what it was she was talking about, shifting forward and resting a soothing hand on his sweaty forehead before she even knew what he was doing. "Obito's taking his... his eye back, Sensei." _Gods, what does that even mean?!_

Kakashi shook his head, shrinking away from her touch as if he expected to be hit and fighting to free himself. "Get it ou… get it out of me. I don't want it. Don't… don't want it. Rin, no. No transplant, don't want. S… S… stop!"

He gave one final struggle to tear the eye out for himself, and when that rendered fruitless, he screamed. He let out an agonized, blood curdling wail, tortured voice echoing off the cave walls as he bucked off the ground, back arched, eyes shocked wide and staring sightlessly up above him. He screamed again and managed to rip his arm up with all of his strength, fingers already reaching for his eye before Sakura threw herself forward, pinning herself and the limb to his heaving chest.

Sasuke pulled the thrashing arm out from underneath her and held it down again, leaving her sprawled across Kakashi's chest, injuries from the fight that seemed so long ago still not healed. "Shh," she whispered, the comforting murmur rising to her lips of its own accord. "It's okay, Kakashi-sensei. Calm down. Shh…" Her fingers somehow found their way to his sweat soaked hair, threading through it as she tried not to panic.

Sasuke shifted, using his good arm to hold back Kakashi while trying to ignore the white hot fire radiating beneath his flesh in his bad shoulder. He glanced up to stare at the horrified Sharingan, watching as it started to spin through Kakashi's feverish haze, eye seeing terrifying memories from years past and not what was happening in front of him.

He still didn't know where the hell Kakashi had gotten that eye from, but he was starting to think it was a bit less willing on Kakashi's part now that he had witnessed him trying to rip his it out of his own head.

He felt his own Sharingan activate as his heart rate sped up, trying to keep up with his fight to hold Kakashi down when he was injured badly enough to need a medic. (It certainly did no wonders for his ego that it took the three of them and a ninja dog just to hold their own against an unconscious, ill, dying Kakashi). Along with the sudden surge of a drain on his Chakra came a sense of comfort, of familiarity; nothing could touch him now, the Uchiha and his eye, now that he was in his element. Where everything he saw was recorded and he could read Chakra like a book, where there was nothing that was stronger than the Sharingan.

Suddenly, the air wavered and started to glow a faint blue, and it took him a moment to realize he was seeing through a genjutsu. "Naruto! Sakura!" he called out, glancing over to find his teammates staring off into space, transfixed. "Close your eyes! He's casting genjutsu!"

Sakura roused a little at his voice but ultimately stayed still; Naruto did nothing. Swearing loudly, Sasuke wished for another set of hands- or perhaps a dozen, as he maneuvered himself so he could still hold down one of Kakashi's arms and close his eye with his foot. It wasn't sanitary in the slightest, but his other arm had gone numb and Kakashi didn't resist, so that meant he had done the right thing. Naruto's and Sakura's Chakra settled down after the brief disturbance, leaving them blinking and looking about in confusion.

"He was casting genjutsu with his Sharingan," he snapped again, a little annoyed with having to repeat himself. "I don't think he even realized he was doing it. Both of you, make yourselves useful, will you? I can't do this by myself."

Naruto was the first to fully come back to reality. The blond scrabbled to grasp Kakashi's other flailing arm while Sakura took it upon herself to clasp one hand over the Sharingan, in case he tried to use it again.

Naruto cast a frantic look at the cave's entrance, where the blizzard was still ongoing. "Where the hell are the medics?!" he cried, narrowly avoiding his sensei's leg as he tried desperately to kick him away. "We can't keep this up much longer!"

Sakura and Sasuke didn't answer, but it was clear they agreed with him.

Naruto glanced back worriedly at Kakashi, trying not to panic. He'd seen Kakashi injured before; this wasn't a big deal. This was going to be the same as all the other times; he was going to be absolutely fine and wave off all their worries with an eye smile when they got back to Konoha.

Of course, he'd been trying to tell himself that all night, but that hadn't helped one bit when Kakashi was calling him Minato-sensei and begging him to stay, and it wasn't helping now.

He had never imagined Kakashi could sound as… as… as _human_ as he had these past few hours. When he'd been begging Sakura- Rin, really- to forgive him, and when he'd been telling Minato all sorts of things that just didn't make any sense to the rest of Team Seven, and with Obito…

When talking with those three, Kakashi had sounded unbelievably hurt and vulnerable. Emotions he never thought he could associate with his sensei. It was hard for him to realize that Kakashi had a past, too, he had friends and old teammates that Team Seven didn't even know existed. And by the way he'd been behaving, demons that surely, not even dark broody Sasuke's could rival.

And now, with his silver hair mussed and his face still masked and his eyes open wide and pleading with ghosts from the past, he looked decidedly human. This was a side of his sensei that Naruto wasn't sure he had ever wanted to see. Because it was easier to pretend that he was just _Kakashi_; always there, slouching off in the background, there when needed, vanishing when not, without a past and just their invincible jounin-sensei, the famous Sharingan no Kakashi.

It finally occurred to Naruto now that it had been a bit silly to just assume that. Because, as he was quickly learning, everybody had a past, and a shinobi's past was never something nice and simple. After all, children didn't choose to become ninja because their lives were easy, and living as killers didn't make their lives any happier.

It appeared Kakashi had been no different.

Underneath his hand, the feverish flesh fighting him stilled, and the sounds of Kakashi's frantic struggle ceased. Alarmed, Naruto looked back to the jounin's face to see that he was finally starting to relax, even if his chest was still heaving from the exertion, his eye was still bright with fever and unfocused, and he clearly didn't have the slightest idea in the world where he was. Thankfully, for whatever reason, Kakashi must have decided that the most important thing in the world wasn't clawing out his own eye.

It was when Sakura leaned back in relief, withdrawing her hand from his red eye, that Naruto realized the Sharingan was crying again.

It struck him as odd that Kakashi's grey eye hadn't cried once this entire night. Only the red one.

"Obito," he whispered, his voice more than half a sob. "Obito, I'm sorry."


	4. Investigation

Thank you all for reviewing! Enter the medics. No more creepy hallucinations with dead people :)

**Chapter 4: Investigation **

The medics did finally come.

It was just as the snow was beginning to let up that figures garbed in dark, soaked cloaks bearing the Konoha emblem burst into the cave, a team of four which barreled over Kakashi and forced the three genins back, Kakashi's dog Bulk bounding in behind them. Everything was a whirl of confusion and panic as the three conscious members of Team Seven found themselves manhandled, injuries roughly inspected even as Naruto tried to fight the medics off and direct them to Kakashi.

Two of the medics had gone straight to the jounin, pushing down his mask without hesitation and shoving the antidote for the poison into his mouth while searching him for any other injuries, hands already glowing green in preparation.

And then they were headed back to Konoha, Kakashi collapsed in Shizune's arms as she left her team behind. Sasuke's bad arm was immobilized by a jutsu and Sakura's arms were wrapped around a medic's neck, while Naruto, Kyuubi's Chakra having done its work over the night, was well enough to go full speed back to Konoha. He was almost able to keep up with Shizune and her load, but it ended up not mattering, because when he sprinted in the hospital short of breath and nearing exhaustion mere minutes after Shizune had arrived, he was informed by none other than Tsunade that he was just going to have to be patient. Kakashi wasn't stable, she'd said, and treating the dangerous Copy Nin when he was in such a state was best left to professionals. She'd told him he'd be fine and grinned carelessly.

But she didn't understand. She hadn't seen Kakashi call him Minato and sob and try to claw the Sharingan out of his own head. How could she say he'd be fine when she hadn't seen _that?_

* * *

"Sakura- Naruto- Sasuke-"

"Brat, calm down. Hold still, will you?"

_"Sakura- Naruto- Sasuke-"_

"I said calm down, Hatake Kakashi. Your team is fine. Now, calm down, ninja of Konoha."

The use of his full name, the reminder of who he fought for, it all served Tsunade's purpose of trying to snap him back into the present and get him to focus, but what really calmed the panic in Kakashi's eye was the promise that his team was fine. His fevered gaze shut and the darkness overtook him again, but his team was fine, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

Sasuke's hospital room was darkly silent. Team Seven was sober and hesitant, all three members present not actually grounded in anything but the memory of the long night with their sensei. Sasuke, groggy from medication and in for a surgery on his arm that would take place the next morning, stared blankly at the wall, more than a little out of it but still silent as ever, and even Naruto wasn't talking.

They were all waiting for news on Kakashi's condition, but they'd already been warned it would be at least another hour.

Abruptly, Naruto stood. He turned and moved quickly to the door, only stopping when Sakura called out to him.

"Hey, Naruto. What's going on?"

"I'm going to find those people. Rin, Minato, and Obito. They sounded like his friends."

Sakura and Sasuke exchanged a look. Kakashi hadn't exactly been coherent, and his one-sided conversation had barely been understandable, most of the words slurring together and being lost in his weak wheezes that masqueraded as breath, but from what little they had been able to gleam, those three people were dead.

They still didn't stop him from walking out the door.

* * *

"Hey! Um… Bushy-brow's sensei!"

Gai didn't know if that supposed to be a compliment or an insult. But he'd drawn plenty of both- or, perhaps plenty of the latter- with his appearance, and he had long ago decided to take such ambiguous jibes as compliments. So he turned around with a smile to see Kakashi's most energetic student standing behind him, a look of curious urgency on his face, seeming as if he hadn't slept in a day and could use a bath. "Yes, Naruto? To what do I owe the exquisite pleasure of a meeting with one of my rival's cute students?"

Naruto blinked. There were many things that didn't make sense about those two sentences, and that included the enthusiastic manner with which they'd been said. The man looked as eager as if this was the climax in the most suspenseful movie of the year. Naruto shook it off and placed his hands firmly on his hips; he had a mission, and, odd or not, this man was going to help him accomplish it. "You're that guy from the Chuunin Exams. You're Kakashi-sensei's friend, right?"

"My eternal rival? Of course! We are the closest of comrades!" Gai pointed at himself with his thumb proudly and smiled a smile so sparkly it hurt. "Why do you ask, Naruto? Is there something-"

"Who are Rin, Minato, and Obito?"

Naruto's blunt question did quiet Gai, but he wasn't expecting it to make his eyes go wide and his mouth drop open before he recovered his composure. Gai frowned deeply and stared down at him with a strange look in his eyes, one that made Naruto wish he had just gone and asked Iruka, like he'd been planning to.

"Naruto, where did you hear those names?"

The careful way the question was phrased, the suddenly subdued tone to Gai's voice- neither fazed him. Naruto just shrugged. "Kakashi-sensei got sick on a mission. He started talking to them when he was unconscious, and it sounded like they were his friends, and he's hurt so I thought they would want to know."

Gai paused, seeming suddenly serious. "Ah," he said with a heavy exhale. "I see. Now I understand. That is a question I'd advise you ask my rival, but when he is injured, he becomes so full to the brim with youth that his patience runs thin from inactivity, and if you test him, he can be a sight that is frightening to behold! Nevertheless, I can not answer your question, Naruto; those are not my stories to tell, and I would never break my Kakashi's confidence in me in circumstances such as these."

Naruto blinked. Only about half of what the man had said had made any sense at all, and, even then, it hadn't been the answer he'd been looking for. He stared dumbly up at him for a few seconds before he started up again, flailing about a bit in concern.

"But, you said my eternal rival is hurt! Tell me, how is his condition? Is he as youthful as ever, or…?" He trailed off, and when Naruto was too dumbfounded to speak, he began to weep openly. "Oh, no! Do you mean to say that he is… he is dead? Or is is the Sharingan? Naruto, I can not take such suspense when it comes to my ever youthful rival's welfare! Please, you must tell me!"

Naruto stared blankly. He wondered if such a man could really be a good friend for Kakashi- he couldn't see how their personalities would match _at all_- but when his loud cries grew even louder, Naruto spoke just to put an end to the sobs and the confused looks that they were earning him. "Kakashi-sensei's fine, Bushy-Brow's sensei! And so is the Sharingan! He's just sick because he was poisoned. And the bastard gave us the antidote instead of using it on himself. And I don't know, I think his eye's fine… he got his hand in there once for a few seconds before we managed to pull it out, but, well, it seemed okay at the time."

This seemed to alarm Gai, though not much. "What? Kakashi tried to- he tried to take out his own eye?"

Naruto shuddered, thinking back on it now. They'd torn Kakashi's bloodied hand back in horror to find the fingertips already stained scarlet, with the always-red eye now filling with blood from his attempt at clawing it out of his own skull. "Yeah. It was pretty scary. I mean, he had a high fever so he wasn't in his right mind and all, but…"

Gai appeared stricken, then horrified, then whirled around and ended it all with a dramatic thumbs up and a smile that was far too white to be natural. "Do not worry, Naruto! That is nothing for the power of youth! I will run forth and speak with the Hokage, and I will ensure that he recovers his youth fully! That's a promise!"

Naruto didn't have time to reply before the man had turned and sprinted down the street so fast he was nothing but a blur. Which was somewhat good, because he Gai had left him speechless.

* * *

"That's it!"

Sasuke and Naruto both looked at Sakura in surprise at her sudden exclamation. She snapped her fingers and stood excitably, seeming energized for the first time since they'd finally come home to Konoha that morning. "Minato! I knew I recognized that name from somewhere!"

"You know who Minato is?!" Naruto exclaimed eagerly, jumping to his feet as well, eager to know who Kakashi had mistaken him for. "Come on! Spill, Sakura-chan!"

"Well, it might not be the same one. Sensei never mentioned his clan name." She shrugged, then shook her head. "But this has to be it. Namikaze Minato, the-"

"-Fourth Hokage," Sasuke finished. He sighed, shaking his head. "Well, that's one old friend we won't be contacting."

"Hold up!" Naruto waved his hands, gesturing for them to stop talking as he moved forward. "Kakashi-sensei called this Minato guy _Sensei_! No way was his teacher the Fourth Hokage! He was alive years ago; Kakashi-sensei would have to be ancient!"

"Baka! The Fourth only died thirteen years ago. And Sensei's still pretty young. …Actually, the ages almost match up, I think."

Naruto grimaced and scratched his head, trying to figure out how old Kakashi was in his head before the implications of Minato's real identity hit him.

"So… that means… he's dead."

"That's what we've been trying to tell you, dobe."

Naruto shot a glare at Sasuke and stuck his tongue out. "Shut up, Sasuke-teme!"

Sasuke just rolled his eyes, clearly aggravated and too tired to bother continuing the insipid argument with Naruto. "Anyway, about Obito. The name sounds somewhat familiar… I'm positive I've heard it somewhere before. But I can't place it."

"Oh. So, just like me and Minato, Sasuke-kun. Don't worry; I'm sure if you think about it for long enough, you'll remember!" Sakura smiled brightly- a bit too brightly, in Sasuke's opinion- at him, and he rubbed his aching head. The name Obito had been bothering him for hours, but all he could remember was something vaguely negative had been associated with whoever Obito was. Sakura and Naruto didn't seem to have the slightest idea as to what he was talking about- for Naruto, that was expected, but if it had been covered in the Academy, Sakura would've at least remembered who he was. She was good for that much, certainly.

Sasuke closed his eyes, thinking hard. Just where had he heard that name…?

_"I'm worried. He spends more time with Konoha ANBU than with the Uchiha Council... I think they're trying to compromise him."_

_"There hasn't been an Uchiha like him since that bastard Obito. Stupid kid. That outsider should have never gotten those eyes in the first place; if Obito had lived, he would've been exiled for that. He's no Uchiha, not after that."_

_"Well, he's dead. I still have my suspicions that Sakumo's kid was a lot more willing for that transplant than the file said, but the Hokage refused to give the matter any more consideration. Hn. He's being played, just like the rest of them._

_Sasuke watched as his father shook his head at his mother knowingly, a dark look in his eyes. His mother just sighed. "Well, that matter has been settled almost ten years. Enough about that. We're supposed to be talking about- Sasuke! What are you doing?"_

Sasuke opened his eyes with a low gasp. Uchiha Obito… now he remembered that conversation. It hadn't made any sense at the time; later, he'd asked Itachi who Sakumo and Obito were. His brother had simply looked at him oddly, then said they were both heroes in their own right, but he hadn't really given him any more information than eavesdropping on his parent's conversation had.

Later, he had tried to do some digging on his own, only to find that Uchiha Obito's name was nowhere in the archives- the archives that pre-genin such as himself had access to, anyways. And, without a clan name to go by, Sakumo had been just another dead end.

Combining that overheard conversation with what he knew now, though…

His parents had implied that Obito had somehow transplanted his Sharingan into one who was not an Uchiha. That conversation had taken place about eight years previously, when he was five; Kakashi hadn't been twenty yet, not if his estimation of his age was anywhere near accurate. And his parents had implied that the transplant had taken place over ten years previously. Kakashi had probably been about twelve, thirteen...

Could it be…?

Was Obito the Uchiha Kakashi had gotten his eye from?

Sasuke raised his head and cleared his throat, drawing Naruto's and Sakura's attention. Wherever Kakashi had gotten his eye from was none of their business; that an Uchiha matter, and he intended to investigate it further- alone.

But the matter of Obito was still Team Seven's business.

"Obito's dead," he said gruffly.

Sakura gave an exclamation of surprise while Naruto's eyes widened. The blond was halfway up and out of his seat, accusing finger already raised to point at him when Sasuke continued, not wanting to listen to Naruto's half-baked accusation that he didn't know what he was talking about. "I remember where I heard his name. My, uh, parents were talking about him… he's been dead for a long time. Like Minato."

Naruto sighed loudly, deflated. Sakura appeared crestfallen as well, their hopes at finding Kakashi's friends all but dashed. Sasuke suspected Rin was dead as well, but he knew Naruto would never believe him unless he gave any proof- even if Sakura sided with him, which she would, because she was always did. Sasuke was rather sure the kunoichi would side with him if he tried to argue that the sky was green and the grass was blue.

Suddenly, the door to his hospital room opened and in stepped Tsunade. Her hair was limp, half of it escaping from one of her usual low pigtails, and she looked a bit tired, her shoulders low and her skin pale, her look one of exhaustion.

Naruto bounded to his feet and rushed over to her, grabbing the Hokage by the wrist and tugging on her arm, hard. "Tsunade-obaachan! Obaachan! Is Kakashi-sensei okay oh my gosh it's taken so long is he all right Oba-"

"Get off of me, brat." Tsunade tugged her arm free of his grip so roughly that the blond tumbled to the floor and she stepped over him, disregarding his wail. "You two. Visiting hours are over. Sasuke needs to get some rest and you being here isn't helping that. You also didn't sleep last night because you were taking care of that immature brat of a sensei."

Sakura stood even as Naruto scrambled to his feet, the kunoichi bowing slightly at the Hokage. "Tsunade-sama. Is-"

"How's Kakashi-sensei?! Is he okay?! Tsunade-obaachan tell us!"

Tsuande glanced down at Naruto with a raised eyebrow. "Huh? You mean nobody told you?"

When the three shook their heads in confusion, she groaned and smacked a head to her forehead. "Worthless medi-nin in training. Kami. I'm sure he's doing this to spite me. Well, how will he like two weeks worth of midnight shifts?" She gave a wicked smile, apparently not noticing how worried the three still were.

"Tsunade-sama, you look really tired," Sakura began hesitantly, trying to mask her worry. "Did Kakashis-sensei's healing take that much to… I mean…" She trailed off anxiously and bit her lip. If the greatest healer in the all of the Five Nations had been this tired out after treating her sensei, it couldn't be good.

To her surprise, Tsunade rolled her eyes and kicked the door shut with her heel so hard it almost broke off the hinges. "No, I'm tired because apparently, Genma, Raidou, Asuma, and Kurenai think it's _funny_ to take on an S-classing missing nin without calling for reinforcements from ANBU. They also must've thought it was absolutely fucking _hilarious_ to scare those two lovey dovey chuunins at the gate half to death by wondering in with arms half torn off and bleeding eye sockets and holding in their own damn guts. Do they just assume that medical ninjutsu is a fix-it-all magic trick and all we do is snap our fingers to bring them back from the dead? Do they have _any idea_ how close they cut it? Jeez. I've had it up to here with my insane, suicidal jounins treating their health like some kind of disposable toy. Actually, they treat it like a food wrapper to be discarded. And that includes your brat of a sensei."

Team Seven was mildly overwhelmed by her sudden rant, all three staring at the Hokage in surprise. The blonde stood fuming against the wall for several moments before she shook her head harshly and turned her attention back to the genins. "Sorry. That stuff is none of your business. Usually I reserve such things for Shizune and my sake. Hmm… guess I was tireder than I thought. That sake in my desk is sounding reeeeal good about now…"

"Hey!" Naruto grabbed at Tsunade's wrist again when she turned to leave, seeming to have forgotten entirely about Team Seven. "Wait! What about Kaka-sensei?!"

"Oh. Right. Him." She shook her head and yawned widely. "He's fine. Been fine for hours, actually. I told the kid playing medi-nin to tell you three that. He'll be out of this place sooner than you, Sasuke."

Sasuke grunted while Sakura sighed, slumping with relief, and Naruto dropped into a chair and yawned, exhaustion finally showing. For the first time since Kakashi had collapsed the night before, all three genins finally dropped the facade of being in control and relaxed, so heavily tired that Tsunade's stern order for Sakura and Naruto to get out didn't even faze them. She had to haul Naruto to his feet by his ear for his drooping eyes to open and glared down at him.

"Both of you, out. You can come back and see Sasuke and Kakashi tomorrow, but tonight, I want you both home and resting."

Naruto groaned loudly and Sakura had to resist the urge to admonish him for his complete lack of respect in front of the Hokage. She blushed, mortified, and opened her mouth to apologize for him when Naruto suddenly straightened up, as if he'd remembered something very important.

"Oh! Oh! Obaachan!" he exclaimed. "Wait! Do you know somebody named Rin? We want to find her for Kakashi-sensei but we don't know who she is."

Tsunade's tired eyes narrowed at the name, and she glanced between the three before her with suspicion before she shook her head. "Where on earth did you hear that name?"

Naruto pouted. "Gai-sensei said that, too. What's this deep, dark secret about Rin and those other two? How come no one tells us anything? Kaka-sensei started talking to Rin last night and we wanted to track her down! It sounded like they were friends. But then we couldn't find her because we don't know who she is."

Tsunade paused, then just shook her head and pointed for Sakura and Naruto to leave. "Rin isn't here, Naruto. And I don't think it's a good idea to mention her to Kakashi."

When she left, Team Seven was only more confused- and determined- than before.


	5. Resolution

Thank you all for reviewing! So, last chapter, and a happy ending, if bit of a cheesy one. Kakashi's suffered enough on the show, don't you think? He deserves a happy ending. I'd love for him to somehow resolve things with Obito without either one of them dying, too... but don't see any way that can happen. Ah well. I can dream, can't I?

**Chapter 5: Resolution **

"Sasuke-kun, are you sure you should be up? I mean, you have surgery in an hour and-"

"I'm fine, Sakura."

"Yeah! Like Sasuke would let a little surgery keep him in bed." Naruto nudged Sasuke with his elbow and grinned broadly. "Besides, it's good training! Sneaking him around so the nurses don't catch sight of him to check on Kaka-sensei. Stealth training and all of-"

"Naruto, you're practically yelling this out to the entire hospital. That's not stealth. Also, the nurses are civilians. All I had to do was get up and walk out."

Naruto's face pulled into a pout and he rolled his eyes. "You make everything sound so easy, Sasuke-teme. I hope the nurses do catch you."

"Fine, dobe."

Naruto stuck his tongue out and Sasuke just groaned before Sakura hushed Naruto. "Stop picking on Sasuke-kun, Naruto. And, anyway, we're here. So be quiet or the nurses will find us and make us leave."

Naruto shot another glare at Sasuke but remained quiet, and, satisfied, Sakura stepped forward and opened the door to Kakashi's hospital room.

"-and she threatened to tie me down. I said that I hadn't been aware she was interested, nor had I known she liked it like that. Then she… well. You know what happened next, Gai."

"Oh, my rival! How endlessly cruel of you! She was merely interested in looking out for your precious well being and preserving the flowers of your youth and you took it upon yourself to embarrass her!"

There was a deep chuckle, and then, "Maa, it was unnecessary concern. I'm fine, I'm fine."

"She found you with your foot out the window! My rival, after the scare you gave us, she had every right to be so frightfully worried! Although, your blessed luck may have saved you, for if our esteemed Hokage had discovered you in such an incriminating position, she would have likely taken the initiative to imprison your restless youth, and all future escape attempts would have been halted before they began."

"…We'll see about that. And, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke? What are you three doing?"

Naruto and Sakura both jumped while Sasuke just gave an expectant nod. Neither Kakashi nor Gai had been able to see them while they lingered in the doorway, but it wasn't entirely surprising that the jounin had noticed their presence. "Eavesdropping," the Uchiha said truthfully, leading the way into the room.

Kakashi leaned forward in bed so he could see the trio while Gai turned so his back wasn't to them and could watch as well. "Now, that wasn't very polite, Sasuke," the silver-haired jounin admonished jokingly, his eye crinkled up into a smile. "You shouldn't try and sneak up on jounin. You never know what might happen."

"I think I'll take my chances."

Gai gave Kakashi a meaningful look as he took another step back, giving Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke a better view of their sensei. They moved forward eagerly- even though Sasuke tried to mask his worry, he did it rather poorly- and their relief was unmistakable when they found that Kakashi was not only alive, he was very clearly alive and well. In fact, he looked much better than the three of them did, with Sasuke's arm in a sling, Sakura listing to one side as if she barely had the strength to remain on her feet, and Naruto appearing as if he hadn't really slept in days. Kakashi seemed slightly tired, but nowhere near as exhausted as his three students, and his only sign of injury were the clean bandages wrapped around his Sharingan.

"You guys look terrible," Kakashi murmured with a frown. "What are you three doing here?"

"Wha- what are we _doing_ here, Kaka-sensei?!" Naruto exclaimed. "You scared us half to death! What do you mean, what are-"

"Baka Naruto! Shut up!" Sakura elbowed him back with enough force to make him gasp and smiled sweetly as she stepped out in front of him. "Sorry, Kakashi-sensei. Naruto just meant that we were worried."

It was Kakashi's turn to shoot a meaningful look in Gai's direction. When the Blue Beast of Konoha didn't seem to get it, he asked pointedly, "Gai, did you hear that? Downstairs? It sounded like Lee. I think he's in trouble."

Gai was gone before the three genins had time to blink, arms flailing about and yelling all the way down the hall about his favorite cute little student. Kakashi grinned slightly at the man's flamboyant exit before he turned to his students. "Sorry about… him. He's an acquired taste and tends to scare people off before they get to know him."

"I'll say," Sakura muttered, finally dragging her gaze away from the doorway where the green and orange blur had flashed past in his hurry to get to Lee. "He's really weird. Oh! Not that that means anything about you, since you're friends with him. I just meant that- that-"

Kakashi chuckled, clearly amused. "Relax, Sakura. I've been insulted worse before than a student unwittingly implying that I'm weird."

"You are weird, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi's eye widened in mock surprise. "Ouch, Naruto. Where's your bedside manner? That one comment could've had a serious effect on my psyche, I'll have you know." He waved his finger at him and shook his head, and Naruto smirked.

"Yeah, right. I didn't damage your psyche… whatever that is."

Sasuke closed his eyes and smacked a hand to his forehead while Kakashi let his head thump back against the pillow and shook his head. Sakura just glared solidly at Naruto before elbowing him aside again, this time hard enough to make the blond wince. "So, how are you feeling, Kakashi-sensei?" she asked, giving him a once over. "You look a lot better."

Kakashi shrugged. "Maa, I'm fine. You three, however…" He pointed at Sasuke and shook his head again. "You don't even look like you should be up. And, as for for you two, you look like you went out drinking with Tsunade last night. Haven't you heard of a good night's sleep?"

"We do not look _that_ bad."

"Seen a mirror lately?"

Sakura rolled her eyes while Naruto threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "We come to check up on you after you _almost died_ and_ this_ is the thanks we get? Jeez. Haven't _you_ ever heard of gratitude?"

Kakashi grinned but shifted uncomfortably nevertheless. "I didn't almost die, Naruto. You've being over dramatic. And, anyway-"

Unfortunately, this seemed to be the last straw for poor, sleep-deprived Naruto, because the blond suddenly snapped. He stomped his foot in frustration and pointed his finger accusingly at Kakashi, still managing to make himself look rather foolish with his bedraggled appearance in a very sharp contrast with how he tried to take control of the situation. "You did too almost die! You gave us the antidote instead of using it on yourself, you idiot, and then your fever got so high you kept talking to us like we were some people we've never heard of and you scared the hell out of us, and then you went crazy and tried to take out your Sharing-"

"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed, rounding on him and looking like she wanted to strangle him. "Shut _up!_"

"But, Sakura-chan-"

"_Naruto_, you-"

"That's enough, both of you. You need to calm down." Kakashi's voice had fallen back on a slight edge of authority, and his grey eye was sharp and concerned as he looked between the three genins. "You both look exhausted and there's no use in getting into arguments just because you're tired. Besides… I have something I need to talk to all three of you about, which I can't do if two of you are constantly fighting."

Naruto looked at Kakashi like the jounin was about to assign him his first S-Rank mission while Sakura just nodded and blushed, glancing guiltily for a moment before moving to stand beside Sasuke. "Sorry, Sensei."

Kakashi's eye curved into an arc in what she supposed was meant to be a comforting smile. It was surprising how expressive he could be, considering all but one quarter of his face was almost always concealed, but it still made his expressions hard to read. "Don't worry about it. But, listen. Gai had… a few interesting things to tell me. According to him, you've been going about the village asking everyone you meet about a few names I apparently dropped while I was unconscious."

Sakura turned slowly to glower at Naruto, who was quick to shake his head and swear otherwise. "We are not, Sensei! I only asked Bushy-brow's-sensei and Tsunade-obaachan!"

"I didn't ask anyone."

"I've been here since yesterday."

Kakashi grimaced and rolled his eye to the ceiling. "That's Gai for you, then. Exaggerating, as always. But it doesn't change the situation much." He sighed heavily, his gaze moving slowly from each genin until it came to rest on Naruto. "Rin, Minato, and Obito, huh?"

"Huh?" Naruto asked, his mouth dropping open in surprise. "How'd you know it was them?"

Kakashi laughed quietly without real humor. "Gai told me. And, even if he hadn't, it was rather obvious. You three are… a lot like them."

"We, um… figured out that they were… dead. Obito, at least," Sakura ventured hesitantly. "…Sorry, Sensei."

"Was your Sensei really the Fourth Hokage?" Naruto asked, his characteristically energetic voice and features now subdued. He seemed to grow even sadder when Kakashi confirmed it with a silent nod. "Oh. He is dead, then... you were right, Sakura-chan. ...I'm sorry, too, Kaka-sensei."

The jounin frowned. "Why are you two sorry? You didn't know them."

When both genins hesitated and stayed silent, it appeared that meant it was Sasuke's turn to question him. The Uchiha raised his dark, unreadable eyes to focus on him, cold voice flat and carefully unemotional. "Who were they to you? Why did Gai and the Hokage refuse to tell us about them?"

"Ah, that." Kakashi folded his hands in his lap and leaned back against the headboard, gazing thoughtfully at the ceiling. "Well, I must be a scary person, because everybody assumes that I'll bite their heads off if they ask about them. I'm really not that bad of a guy; I just don't like talking about my old team very much. Hmm... why were you asking Tsunade and Gai about them, anyway?

Naruto spoke up to spare the others from Kakashi's gaze, mild, laid back, and piercing all at once. "It just seemed they were really important to you... we wanted to find them for you. Since you were hurt and everything... everyone should have a friend with them if they're hurt or sick."

Kakashi just stared at him. An astute observation, considering Naruto had had absolutely no one for years. The blond spoke of a luxury not afforded to most shinobi; of a luxury he hadn't had since Minato had died. Gai would try to be there when he could, and Kakashi for him- but they were both elite jounin, and were out of the village more often than they were in it. They were lucky to catch each other every other month.

But it didn't make any sense for Naruto to say what he had. It implied that he had no one there- but his team was right there, right now.

But, then, what were Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke to him, really? More than a team, certainly.

What was that word Naruto had used- friends?

Friends, what a novel idea. But, then, if Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke _weren't_ what friends were, then what was?

Rin would be very happy to know that he had friends like those three. To know that he had a reason to stay alive now other than just for a tool for the village.

He looked to Naruto and, in that moment, saw nothing more than a ninja who had been born out of a sad child. A sad child who was always alone. Minato had asked him to take care of his son- to take care of this child still exploring just what friendship and teams and love were. And who was he to say no to his beloved sensei?

Kakashi glanced over at Sakura. Just a small girl, really, just a child who didn't understand what the word suffering was. Which was good; it was really far too cruel of the world to have tortured Naruto and Sasuke so much at such young ages; Sakura shouldn't have to know what the word pain meant. But that also meant she couldn't fully understand just how lucky she was to have her entire team alive and well; how easy it was for such a thing to be ripped apart and gone before she could blink. In that, Kakashi could almost see a bit of his childhood self; he hadn't realized how important was team was to him, not for lack of suffering, just for lack of caring- until it was too late, and Obito was dead. He hoped Sakura would realize how lucky she was before this perfect picture of a team was destroyed, and she was forced to grow up.

Then, Sasuke. There was no question that he knew what pain was. His sworn life's duty to kill his own brother, even if he died trying.

But that would bring him nothing. It wouldn't bring happiness and he wouldn't rest any easier at night when Itachi was dead. Whether Sasuke was disillusioned about that, Kakashi had no idea... but he knew one thing for sure. Sasuke was only so set on his goal because the stoic youth was absolutely convinced he had nothing else to live for.

But Sasuke had his teammates, didn't he? He did have something else to live for, even if he didn't realize it yet.

His gaze drifted from Sasuke to all three of his friends, who seemed to be getting rather nervous in the prolonged silence. His last moments with Obito in those fevered hallucinations had been, granted, less than ideal- but now that he was in his right mind, he realized that it had been simply a good dream turned nightmare due to fever. But what that nightmare had said was still true. Obito had given his life for him and Rin. And now Kakashi was living for both of his dead teammates, and living out a miserable life for them would be wrong. He had to try to be as happy as he could, for them... like they had asked him to.

And, with these new, dear friends of his, such a thing wasn't only possible... it seemed almost easy.

His old teammates had given him more than three very good reasons to stay alive. They had made him realize that living for the dead in accordance with guilt and regret was a waste when he could live for people who were still alive. A lesson he could teach to Sasuke, too.

_You three, you know how much I love you and miss you. ...But thanks for making me realize that, just because I miss you doesn't mean I can't find new precious people to care about._

"You know, you guys, it's okay that they're not here. They haven't been in years," he said softly after a moment, and they all jumped at the break in the silence, as if he were going to scold them for asking around about his past. Well, Naruto and Sakura looked like that- Sasuke just looked at him, feigning indifference.

Naruto frowned when it became clear that such a scolding was not forthcoming. "But, Sensei, that doesn't mean that you-"

"And, you three are here," he interrupted smoothly, beaming at them all. He squeezed his eye into a happy arc of delight. "I don't really see how you think I'm so alone when you three are standing right here."

The three gave small exclamations of surprise and looked at each other, then slowly turned back to him, eyes alternating between him and the floor in awkward displays of pleasure. As Kakashi very much enjoyed being the causer of awkward silences, as he so often was, he enjoyed the moment before he mercifully continued on, allowing his favored awkwardness to dissipate.  
_  
_"You know what, you guys? I just decided something. You three did such a good job keeping me alive out in the field, I was thinking that I should treat you. Should I bother asking what you want or-"

"_Ichiraku ramen!_" Naruto yelled, so loud that Kakashi wouldn't have been surprised if he had woken up half the hospital. He grinned at his two teammates and clapped his hands together. "Yes! Sensei's finally gonna treat us! I thought you were a cheap bastard, Kaka-sensei! Aww, man, I can't wait until you and Sasuke get out of here- free ramen!"

"Hmm?" Kakashi asked, tilting his head to the side. "Who said anything about waiting? We can go right now."

The three stared at him in confusion. "Umm... Kaka-sensei, it's no fun if you treat but just give us your wallet and you're not actually there. You and Sasuke have to be there, too!" Naruto explained as if he were talking to a three year old.

Kakashi chuckled. "This, children, is one of my favorite activities: escaping from the hospital ahead of schedule. I can't believe I haven't taught this to you guys yet. Ah, I knew there was a reason to become a jounin sensei; if you guys listen to me, the medic nins will hate you just as much as they hate me."

"Wha... that's not something to aspire to, Kakashi-sensei! And why are the only things you seem to teach stupid things like _this?!_"

Kakashi shrugged happily. "Now, now, this is not stupid, Sakura. It's a very important lesson crucial to a shinobi's well being. So? Are you guys going to come?"

Sakura rolled her eyes at her sensei's typically ridiculous explanation before biting her lip and looking to Sasuke, who did seem rather interested at checking out of the hospital ahead of schedule. "Well, Sasuke-kun is supposed to have surgery on his arm-"

"Maa, I've seen worse injuries than his. He'll be fine. We can just sneak out and get him back here in plenty of time." Kakashi smiled convincingly as he threw the blankets back and stood. "I'm leaving, anyway, whether you three come with me or not."

"Come on, Sakura-chan!" Naruto pleaded, reaching out to snag her hand eagerly. "It'll be so cool! Plus, he said he'll treat us! He, like, _never_ does that! You can't miss it, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura bit her lip, still worried, but Sasuke just shrugged and slipped his good hand into the pocket of his hospital pajamas. "I'm in, too. I'm hungry."

Sakura groaned loudly and rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine! I'm coming. Someone has to keep you three from running off and killing yourselves, anyway. I can't believe I'm going with this, though... Kakashi-sensei, you're just as irresponsible as Naruto."

"Ow. Talk about over the top. Now, come on." Kakashi led his friends toward the window and opened it, then pointed outside. "There's a nice tree out here that I usually use in situations like these. Sakura, you go first, so you can make sure Sasuke doesn't hurt himself in the jump."

Sakura scrambled to comply while Sasuke turned to fix him with a murderous glare. There was a distant call from below of, "_Sasuke-kun, I'll catch you!" _and the Uchiha looked like he positively wanted to strangle him.

"Thanks for that, Kakashi."

He beamed. "Don't mention it."

With a resigned sigh, Sasuke turned and jumped lightly out the window, catching onto the tree Kakashi had mentioned with one hand and quickly climbing down, ignoring his pink-haired teammate's anxious squeals of fright when he almost slipped.

Kakashi stepped back and gestured for Naruto to go forward. "Your turn. Out you go."

Naruto nodded eagerly and prepared to jump, then froze. He looked over his shoulder to glare at him in suspicion. "Wait a minute... you're not doing this so you'll be alone and get a chance to escape, are you?"

"No, no!" he exclaimed, his eye wide. "I have no ill intentions, Naruto! I swear, ninja's honor!"

The blond eyed him for another moment then stepped back and pushed Kakashi to the window first. "No way. I don't trust you, Kakashi-sensei; you'll run off if I go first."

"Ah, wait a minute, Naruto-"

"Are you two coming or not?!"

"Yeah!" Naruto bellowed down to an annoyed Sakura, still trying to push Kakashi out the window. "Just as soon as baka-sensei jumps I'll go, too!"

Kakashi sighed and willingly took a step towards the window, rolling his eye skyward. "I can't believe you don't trust me, Naruto," he said, but it was with an eye crinkle. "That really hurts, you know."

"Yeah, yeah. Now get down there!"

"Yes, sir." Kakashi gave a lazy, joking two finger salute before resting one foot on the window sill, preparing to jump. "See you do- unh!"

Naruto's arms wrapped around him from behind in a tight- almost painful, really- bear hug, his head burying in his back. His eye widened in surprise and he looked over his shoulder to see nothing but a spiky blond mop. "Naruto?"

"…I'm glad you're okay, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi stared at him for a moment before he softened, allowing his surprised expression to fall into a small smile. "Yeah. Me, too."

And he really was okay. More okay than he had been in a long time. After all, Team Minato had given him something he hadn't had since the day Kyuubi had attacked; a reason to live. Three of them, actually. And as long as they were okay, so was he.


End file.
